Well, that "graphical jump" didn't last long, its already back to looking like... You know... Such a damn shame, I really though Bungie got the hint, but this game really makes the 360 look bad. Not as bad as ODST mind... The main issue I have is its still got faaaaaar too much colour, but more than that the levels look like Quake 1 levels, built out of blocks with tiny textures stretched over them in really bad ways... They could do with dropping the engine and building a new one. Character models and textures look spot on, they were never really an issue in Halo 3 either, aside from the human faces. Chiefs model/texture was fantastic in the final:
I'm sorry, I know a few people here are working on it, and I've seen your stuff, its awesome, really is, so I don't get why I can't get into these pics
Replies
the character models and other props look nice though
Granted this is all still pre-beta stuff, sure, and anything can change any time. But I have to say this far I'm really let down once again by the worlds... Maybe Bungie just dont have the pipeline for decent level creation? its all so "my first level" full of mistakes, like edge work and decal useage is just none existant...
Shame, because that along with the stupid over use of post process filters, makes the overall look just feel boring, and thats not good for the awesome character modellers.
Yeah, these shots reek of this. Or at least the compression is murdering that last one. I know there's a badass matte painting back there somewhere, I just can't see it through that horrible banding.
Anyway. Honestly? I think this look like crap. The character models are okay... not very good, and the shaders/lighting doesnt really help... This looks like a budget title, imho.
Environments looks like something from 2004.
I don't know... to tell you the truth I'm so sick of Halo, I really want these guys to move on and make something else, you can only work on one franchise for so many years. (I know I know... they have a deal with Microsoft to do this last one I believe...)
Edit: Not trying to be disrespectful either, I have a lot of respect for Bungie, but I want to see what ELSE these guys can do, spread them creative winggsss of theirs.
The environments do look very dull at the moment, maybe they're some MP maps being blocked out first, and they needed something to show for this mag.
I dunno, but i hope they get better, and i assume they will.
Semi double post, but I agree with Fletcher on this one, I still have hope that the stuff we saw in the trailer will come to life :P
Are these outdoors Rage quality? No (or at least the extremely limited amount we have seen of it), but they're sure as hell better than Borderlands.
[REMOVED]
As an interesting aside, how I can be smashed for having a reasonable critique on any other game while this total troll-fest can go happily along mystifies me.
but the assets themselves look pretty good
First time I encountered voiced complaints about too much colour. I found the bright vibrant palettes on halo characters a defining feature of the art style. I say, MOAR
Game looks great so far guys, cant wait to see more
wha? Is that game some sort of crappy environment art bar to you?
Borderlands is awesome :P
Scene budgets would dictate what can be drawn, so giving X detail to asset 1 means that you leave less room to work with other things, for example map geometry.
Edge work in level editing can relate to many things, from simple chamfering of box like assets (in this case those terrible, almost Quake 2 engine style brush work blocks), to smart decal placement (i.e. dirt/grime decals on edges to give a nicer falloff to said brush work).
These things are basic stuff we did years ago that no Halo game to date has shown... Even these shots. Any current gen mapper or indeed modeller can tell you why normal mapping can only fake so much detail, but when you dont even normal map the edge of say a square brush and it just ends... Well its ugly. You can give or take a few, but it seems every surface is this way in Halo games. Its even more obvious when the maps have hardly any loving compared to the model assets... I dunno why but I can never shake the feeling that the modellers and model texture guys are a LOT more talented than the world texture guys, everything always comes off bland...?
If you need some help on those environments hit me up :P
what on earth is this guy on about
Sorry.
When was the last time you played Halo 3? The graphics upgrade is very noticeable, well on the characters at least. When I get a copy of the new Game informer I will scan the pic of a side by side halo 3 character and halo reach one, its like a visual kick in the nuts.
My personal downpoints:
> Still too much bloom
> There had damn well better be antialiasing this time. So far the screenies show it, but so did Halo and ODST. Both of those games ended up looking like jagfest 2000
The art itself is looking fantastic though, sans the ground geometry itself. As odium pointed out it's a bit stretched and wonky in places. But that's really one of the only art crits I've got on it. It's well above and beyond the level of art in H3/ODST.
No reason to push the bar, really, when the game is likely going to feel & play like other Halo games before it (read: important).
Oh and Sandbag - Chill out fella. Or at least remove the name of the studio you work for if you're going to act that way, publicly.
If you had said this, say, November? Yeah, ok, I could see that...
Saying it now, after buying MW2 on PC and seeing how much I've been shat on with zero support and no care at all simply because they have my money so who cares... No. not any more. Also I waited until ODST was £25 before buying that, and hell, even at that price it feels like I wasted my money. Such a dull, lifeless and boring game compared to the others.
Granted the game will sell simply because of the brand. But that doesn't mean its buyers don't have a right to talk about its short comings when, and lets be honest here, thats all we can do anyway, seeing as we only have a couple of poor pics to look at.
I fully admit its not all about visuals. The best game in the series even now is still Halo:CE.
Absolutely. Its one of the reasons the guns in Halo rawk and the guns in say...Crysis, suck cock. Give me a varied arsenal over several grey rectangles anyday.
Or Rens smearing Vaseline on the Spartans, take your pic. :P
I don't this this looks too bad...it's hopefully going to be all about the gameplay, I hope that changes up substancially. Always preferred Halo's indoor (hard-surface) environments anyway. They probably should have tweaked their engine by now, I mean look at the difference between L4D 1 and 2, but whatever...
love that new truck though.
I looks like $,$$$,$$$,$$$.$$